Construction World January 2018

The pneumatic telescopic mast is safe and simple to operate, lowering automatically if the emergency stop button is activated or the handbrake released.

The four 320 W LED lights, providing 1 280 W of ultrabright light, are extended vertically and tilted remotely from the control panel to suit site conditions.

applications from construction to mining and quarrying to agricultural customers who often carry out harvesting activities at night. “The pneumatic mast is extremely safe and easy to operate, requiring no labour. The mast lowers immediately if the emergency stop button is activated or the handbrake released,” she explains. “This prevents operators from moving the unit with the mast raised, which is a major cause of wear and tear and potentially unsafe.” Added to this are the advantages of a long-lasting bright light, fuel efficiency and ease of handling. The fact that the units are locally designed and manufactured makes them an even more attractive proposition from a procurement and cost perspective, with no import expenses and delivery at a fair price. When renting the units, you have the advantage of 24/7 maintenance to eliminate downtime. The lighting masts will be serviced and repaired by Barloworld Power and the Perkins engines, as part of Barloworld Power’s engine offering, will have direct access to the Barloworld Power workshop footprint around southern Africa. Parts are readily available via Barloworld Power and Elegen for quick Barloworld Power Rental ended the financial year to September 2017 with its best revenue performance in seven years, according to Knouwds. She attributes this to her team’s ability to provide good quality, dependable and value-adding power rental solutions in a difficult economic climate. In 2014 Barloworld became the first Cat Power Rental dealer in Africa to be awarded 5-star certification from Caterpillar and only the sixth in the world. The Power Rental team in Boksburg not only maintenance turnaround. 5-star Cat dealer

met the rigorous standards to become Caterpillar’s first 5-star power rental dealer in Africa, but surpassed them to obtain the second highest score ever awarded to a Cat Rental operation. The Barloworld Power Rental facility in Boksburg was ranked as the benchmark for global best practice among Caterpillar’s dealers. The rental operation retains its 5-star rating and the reputation that accompanies it today. Knouwds says the next Caterpillar audit is expected in 2018, adding that her team has to make a great effort every day of the year to maintain high standards in all areas of the operation required for the 5-star rating. “The Caterpillar rating covers a host of factors, of which one is the ability to provide a comprehensive, high quality rental offering. The partnership with Elegen helps to satisfy this requirement. “The audit becomes more challenging every year. It’s not about keeping the same standard of excellence, but rather about continuous improvement.” 

Barloworld Power Rental has a diverse and professional team looking after customer needs (clockwise from back, left): Cherese Knouwds, Barloworld Power Rental manager; and hire desk controllers Katlego Machate, Carla Graham and Andrea Nair.

The Elegen mast is the first completely South African product to be included in the Barloworld Power Rental offering. It is powered by a Perkins 403A-15 engine, which works well for the partnership as Perkins is a Cat-owned brand in the Barloworld Power stable.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2018